"No athlete in any sport has ever had to go through what I have to" - When John McEnroe opened up about his hatred of tennis as an 'upper-class' sport

John McEnroe is among the most popular tennis players in the world, known as much for his short-tempered behavior on the court as much as his trophies and titles. The American won seven singles Grand Slam titles and 10 more Majors in doubles, but as it turns out, it never stopped him from feeling like an outsider when it came to the tennis world.

In an interview during his 20s, McEnroe had shared this opion with a rather provocative statement, saying:

“No other athlete in any sport has ever had to go through what I have to," McEnroe had said in 1986.

In 2008, speaking in an interview with the New York Times, the former World No. 1 clarified what he meant, saying that he did not like the feeling of tennis as a 'white, upper-class' sport that was not accessible to everyone. McEnroe, of course, had other reasons to feel the way he did, including his own sense of perfection that the sport seemingly did not share.

“Bad calls; not getting what I wanted; being a perfectionist; wanting everything just right; people who had no idea what they were clapping for; wanting to change the system. Tennis was a white, upper-class sport, and I wanted it to be treated like other sports were,” he said.

In the same interview, his wife - rock singer Patty Smyth - had her say on John McEnroe's mentality as well, opinion that contrary to what the public though, her husband definitely cared about what others thought of him.

"He definitely cares what people think,” Smyth said. “He definitely gets wounded. He just doesn’t ever let what people think dictate what he does.”

McEnroe and Patty Smyth married in 1997, and are still married to this day, and reside curently in Manhattan, New York.

John McEnroe on his temperament: "I didn't control it because I didn't want to"

"McEnroe" Premiere - 2022 Tribeca Festival - Source: Getty

In the NY Times interview, John McEnroe also elaborated on his world-famous temperament, stating that in his opinion, he could have controlled it if he had really wanted to. At the same time, the American admitted that there were times when he was out of control, something he regretted now.

"I could have controlled it better. My parents always thought so. On some level I didn’t control it because I didn’t want to. But I took economics at Stanford, and it’s the law of diminishing returns. I did feel out of control, and I didn’t like it. Maybe what I like so much about what I do now is that I’m in control,” John McEnroe said.

Having started his career in 1978, McEnroe retired from tennis in 1994, but continued to play doubles until 2006.